The name of Kulim town was derived from a species of tree Scorodocarpus dorneesis or its common name which is Kulim.
Kulim as a town was started in mid-18th century by 100 Malays who came from the Pattani province, southern Siam, and Thailand.
In the 1850 the immigrant tin miners from Larut Matang, Taiping and Selama started to develop Kulim as a town. By mid-19th century Kulim experienced a boom due to the discovery of tin ore. By 1890, there were 400 Chinese miners operating in Kulim.
At the end of the 1870, he was elected by Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Mukarram Shah as the first Kulim Chinese Chief.
In 1888, there was a major incident in Kulim, dubbed ‘Beautiful Nyonya War’ (Perang Nyonya Cantik) or Kulim War (Perang Kulim). This incident started when the mining chiefs of Kulim fought over a popular Chinese lady of the time.
The chiefs mobilized their respective workers in this seemingly minor squabble escalated into a major riot.
Kedah only started to take serious action to tighten the security in the area after the Kulim War. The Kulim had affected the revenue farms there and also serious undermined the security of the state.
The direct consequences of this incident were the hiring of a British national (B.E. Mitchell) as the chief of police of Kulim (1890) by the ruler of Kedah, and the worsening economic problem of the state. Mitchell was successful in using his influence and power to return peace to the district and also established an active and influential police force.
Kulim in Kedah
